During a three-day trial, the court heard Benson had braked hard in front of a car being driven by Mr Castle between Cambridge and Newmarket and again in Newmarket’s Hamilton Road.

Mr Castle told the court that shortly afterwards he stopped near the Rowley Mile racecourse entrance and got out, to find out what was happening.

He was punched in the face under a “flurry of blows” and, falling to his knees, was kicked twice. Mr Castle suffered cuts to his ear and lip, a false tooth was knocked out and his glasses were broken.

Benson claimed he acted in self-defence. He said Mr Castle had lunged at him, landed a punch and grabbed him by the throat.

“He was quite a big guy and I was clinging on for dear life because I felt he was going to attack me,” he said. He added Mr Castle had been driving “like an idiot”, and said he stopped his van to tell him what he thought of him.

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